About Us

The seed for the Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission were
planted in the fertile ground of the City’s 1994 FUTURE-Little Rock
program and continues through the Vision Little Rock process to examine
typical city concerns – crime, education, dismantle racism.
Race relations kept surfacing as an obstacle to achieving goals in each
of these task force areas. Race relations was identified as the
second most important area needing the city’s attention by the
FUTURE-Little Rock program and sixth as a priority for city concerns by
the
Vision Little Rock process.

The Commission believes it is vital to focus energy on two (2) fronts
concurrently: 1) Education to transform individual attitudes and
behaviors of prejudice and racism; and 2) Institutional change with regards
to empowering institutions to dismantle racism, and to value and
utilize diversity. These two approaches must be integrated to produce a
community that truly reflects racial and cultural harmony.

The Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission has been vested with the
public trust, the obligation to perform and the right to act.
The Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission always acts as a body. The
Commission welcomes the richness of diversity of opinion and
experience in the expression of individual perspectives regarding
matters under consideration; however, only the Commission as a whole
has the authority to take a position on any matter before it. An
individual member cannot decide for the group, nor exercise his/her
authority alone. The Commission will reach decisions and exercise
authority through collective action.

The Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission has the primary
responsibility for planning the direction the Commission should take and
in defining the end results it should seek. The Commission then
delegates major responsibility to the Executive Director for finding the
means necessary to achieving those ends. The day-to-day operations of
the Commission and implementation of Commission projects and programs
will be the responsibility of the Executive Director. Commissioners
will provide volunteer support with the implementation of projects and
programs of the Commission.